Prix Vinissimo Blanc
Three category wins, two further podium places, “Prix Vinissimo Blanc”, Winery of the Year: Diego Mathier and the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse have a special “love affair”.
When Diego Mathier, his wife Nadia and cellar master Cedric Leyat received the special prize for the “Winery of the Decade” at the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse gala two years ago, the flagship winery in Salgesch seemed to be at the zenith of its career. No other winery had won nearly as many categories and podium places in the first ten years of Switzerland’s most important wine competition. At the time, many suspected that Diego Mathier might retire from the Grand Prix, as it seemed almost impossible to achieve even greater success. But he continued to take part in the Grand Prix and now dominates the winners’ lists this year in a way that can best be described with the superlative “spectacular”. The winery won in three categories (“Single-varietal white wines”, “White blends” and “Red blends”). And that’s not all: the winery took two podium places in both the white and red assemblages, a first in the twelve-year history of the Grand Prix. It also won the “Prix Vinissimo Blanc” for the Grand Prix jury’s favorite white wine.
If you want to find out the secret behind this success story, the best time to visit the winery is during the harvest. The 48-year-old Diego Mathier is always personally at the control point, namely the grape reception, while a column of tractors, vans and trailers stretches from Bahnhofstrasse to the village church in front of him. Mathier personally inspects all the grapes and decides which quality selection to make. For the Pinot Noir alone, they work with six different quality selections on the main days of the harvest. Why is he there himself? “Firstly, because I know all the plots from our most important grape suppliers. And secondly, and this is even more important, because it is an important sign, indeed a statement, when the patron himself receives the grapes. Because our winegrowers know that I am strict. And I have to be strict. Because our customers are too!”
130 hectares are cellared
Today, Adrian & Diego Mathier’s Nouveau Salquenen winery processes the harvest from around 130 hectares of vines. Of these, 48 hectares are owned by the family and they have a major influence on the work in the vineyard on a further 50 hectares. Diego Mathier attributes the fact that the already impressive quality of the top wines can be constantly improved despite these considerable dimensions to his well-functioning core team, which also includes his wife Nadia and cellar master Cedric Leyat. Diego Mathier “inherited” the now 54-year-old winemaker from his father, so to speak, when he took over responsibility for the winery in 2001. They have now been working together for 17 years and complement each other perfectly.
Aiming for the Pinot
“What drives us the most is the fact that we have remained die-hard wine freaks despite the stress,” says Diego Mathier. This is reflected in the infamous “men’s evenings”. The last one was about premier crus from Bordeaux from supposedly weak years. “That’s when I realized that, for me, the 2000 is the best Bordeaux vintage of the last decade,” he says. Such realizations always have an impact on his own business. No wonder, then, that the Merlot Nadia Mathier 2015 was the top-rated Merlot from Switzerland in last year’s VINUM professional panel. And as far as the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse is concerned, does he still have any goals? “Yes, I will do everything I can to win in the Pinot Noir category at some point with my top Pinot, L’Ambassadeur de Domain Diego Mathier.”
Diego Mathier
comes from a family that has been associated with winegrowing in Salgesch for over 600 years. Diego’s great-grandfather Ferdinand Mathier laid the foundations for today’s flagship winery. His parents Adrian and Rosmarie Mathier developed the business into a top Valais domain. Diego Mathier, now 48, took over the business together with his wife Nadia in 2001 and quickly made his own mark. His “Les Ambassadeurs”, “La Familie” and “Les Pyramides” lines in particular are guaranteed top places at tastings and wine competitions. In 2007, 2011 and again in 2018, he won the prestigious title of “Winery of the Year” at the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse.
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